Eagle Mountain-Saginaw

May 29, 2013

High school seniors who still need to pass one or two TAKS tests to graduate can get free tutoring this summer.

The Fort Worth Can Academy is offering the tutoring to any student at any school that failed one or two portions of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills standardized test, preventing the from graduating this spring.

November 02, 2012

A coalition of more than 80 Texas school districts is seeking to overturn all federal accountability ratings issued since the program started in 2003.

The school districts filed a legal case against the Texas Education Agency on Thursday, challenging the Adequate Yearly Progress ratings issued under the No Child Left Behind Act.

The 87 school districts say all AYP ratings issued under the program are invalid, said Ken McCraw, executive director of the Texas Association of Community Schools, an Austin group that organized the legal proceeding.

“It’s a pretty big deal because it could set aside the AYP ratings of school districts if it is upheld,” McCraw said in a Friday telephone interview. “What we're saying is that the feds only contribute a small amount of money but they’re trying to control 100 percent of the accountability. We don’t think the federal government ought to be devising the accountability system.”

DeEtta Culbertson, a TEA spokeswoman, said Friday: “We are reviewing the filing.”

The group is asking the State Office of Administrative Hearings to review the case.

“The challenge asserts that the ratings constitute an unlawful, costly and destructive federal intrusion into local school operations and that the Texas Education Agency, in its efforts to comply with federal mandates, acted without authority from the Legislature and denied school district leaders their right to due process,” the Community Schools group said in a Thursday news release.

If the challenge is successful, the TEA will be required to "withdraw its AYP regulations, wipe the federal ratings slate clean for the past nine years, and start AYP implementation over," the release said.

The school districts involved in the case include several from Greater Tarrant County, including: Alvarado, Castleberry, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Everman, Grapevine-Colleyville, Lake Worth and White Settlement.

Additional school districts are expected to join the case, McCraw said.

Parents, grandparents, students and teachers: post your experiences and photos from the first day of school using the hashtag #FirstBell. And don't forget to include the name of the school and/or location in your tweet.

Tweets with the #FirstBell hashtag may be used by the Star-Telegram online or in print.

The Star-Telegram is running a contest, giving folks to participate the chance win a backpack filled with school supplies, Mom2Mom gear and 4 tickets to the Movie Tavern.

August 24, 2010

Monday may have been the hottest day of the year but school bells rang just the same. New schools opened in Fort Worth, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Keller and other districts across Tarrant County while students in Arlington showed off a greenhouse they built over the summer. You can see a round up of Star-Telegram photos from the first day of school here. Shown at right is kindergartner Logan McElwain from Weatherford's Curtis Elementary School.

The Fort Worth school district posted its first-day video here that includes some anxious parents at the new Hazel Harvey Peace Elementary school who were more nervous than their kiddos. The short video also shows a brief glimpse of the new TABS prep program at Stripling Middle aimed at biomedical sciences. And wait. Is that superintendent Melody Johnson singing?

Meanwhile students are arriving at local college dorms. About 300 faculty, staff, students, UTA president James Spaniolo and Mayor Robert Cluckhelped freshmen get settled in at the University of Texas at Arlington where nearly 4,200 students live in dorms or university-owned apartments, duplexes or houses.

June 02, 2010

Today The News Star in Monroe, La., reports that EMS superintendent Cole Pugh is one of three finalists for the superintendent post there. This is the fourth time this year that Pugh has been a candidate for superintendent elsewhere.

November 03, 2009

The Dripping Springs High School marching band was named state champions in tonight's finals. The Mansfield Legacy band placed seventh and Waxahachieplaced eighth. Here are how our area bands ranked among the 26 bands during the prelims earlier in the day. Only the top 10 advanced to the finals. Click here for complete results.

Saginaw High will be the last of 26 bands performing at the Alamodome today during preliminaries. Band director John Canfield had all 236 students doing breathing excercises and stretching as the prepared for their show at 4 p.m. "It helps them to have good air and air stream," he said. "Marching band is very athletic, so this loosens them up so they do not pull a muscle."

The Boswell High School band is back at state for the second consecutive year in 4A competition. Drum major Aaron Sanderson was a saxophone player when the band marched two years ago. He said he feels so much more pressure this year. "As a a leader, you want be sure each one s playing the best they can and set an example to so that they have a great experience and get the most out of going to state and enjoy it all," he said. Here's assistant band director Dimas Delgado warming up the band before the show.

October 30, 2009

This morning Azle mayor Russ Braudisread a proclamation in on honor of the Azle High School band(pictured here at the reading) declaring next Tuesday as "Marching Green Pride Day." The Hornets will be in San Antonio with four other local bands competing in the state marching band contestat the Alamodome. Click here to see the band's first-place performance at last weekend's area finals in Odessa (it has red shoes!).